What Does
Biodiesel Mean?
Biodiesel is a substitute of a petroleum product known as diesel fuel, and has almost the same properties. It is produced from vegetable oil, animal fat or recycled restaurant grease. Since it is prepared without wasting any non-renewable resources, it is considered a renewable and biodegradable fuel. Its performance is similar to other diesel fuels; however, biodiesel burns completely and causes less pollution. Therefore, it is considered to be a clean fuel.
Corrosionpedia Explains Biodiesel
Diesel fuel is a petroleum product obtained from the distillation of crude oil, which is a non-renewable resource and produces considerable of pollution. Diesel is a common compression-ignition engine (automobile and genset engines) fuel. Research has been done to produce a fuel similar to diesel that yields the same amount of heat energy and is compatible with all the equipment that runs on diesel.
One solution is biodiesel. It is sometimes referred as B100 or neat biodiesel in its pure, unblended form. Like diesel, biodiesel is used for compression-ignition engines.
Some characteristics of biodiesel:
| Specific gravity |
0.88 |
| Kinematic viscosity |
4.0 to 6.0 at 40°C (104°F) |
| Cetane number |
Between 48 to 65 |
| Higher heating value in British Thermal Units per gallon |
~ 127,960 BTU/gal |
| Lower heating value in British Thermal Units per gallon |
~ 119,550 BTU/gal |
| Density in pounds per gallon at 15.5°C (59.9°F) |
7.3 |
| Amount of carbon by weight percentage |
77 |
| Amount of hydrogen by weight percentage |
12 |
| Amount of oxygen by weight percentage |
11 |
| Boiling point |
315-350°C (600-662°F) |
| Flash point |
100-170°C (212-338°F) |
| Amount of sulfur content by weight percentage |
0.0 to 0.0015 |
| Cloud point |
-3 to 15°C (26.6-59°F) |
| Pour point |
-5 to 10°C (23-50°F) |